Need to improve batting first in T20Is, says Rathour
"You cannot be changing too much", when a big tournament is coming, he said. "We need to know what's the core of our team and maintain that core and in between try out new few players. Hopefully if and when they do well, that can help our team combination," Rathour said. A lot has been talked about the poor weather conditions in the national capital. The air quality has been deteriorating ever since Diwali and on Friday it reached the ‘severe+' category. Several Bangladeshi players were seen wearing masks while practising on Thursday and Friday. However, Rathour believes the Indian team is used to playing in such conditions and therefore, it won't we a problem when they take the field on Sunday. "I have played all my life in north India. We are used to these conditions and we have played under these conditions. So, nothing special is being taken care of. Pollution is there but the game has been scheduled. We are here to play and hopefully win," he said. The batting coach is also expecting Bangladesh to give a tough fight, especially in the T20Is, even in the absence of their star players like Shakib al Hasan and Tamil Iqbal. "Missing out on top players of course makes a difference to the team. But T20 is the only format where you don't players miss too much. But the amount of T20 cricket that is there being played in Bangladesh, I am sure they have good players," Rathour said. "In today's game and age, you expect all the international teams to compete well against you. So, we are well prepared and we are hoping and are sure that Bangladesh will give their best. But we are looking to do our best. We are taking this series as a preparation for next year's World Cup. We are looking at all the options available," he added.Speaking on Shakib's ban, the Indian batting coach said: "Of course, it's an unfortunate incident and you don't want things like that in cricket."
--IANS aak/in